Do Nuclear Weapons Have any Rational Utility?

If the leaders of the nuclear weapon states have their way nuclear weapons will remain of central importance in international affairs for the foreseeable future. The number of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons operationally deployed by the United States and Russia will, according to current plans, be cut from today’s total of 50,000 to a total of about 10,000 within the next ten years. Nevertheless, American and Russian political leaders, supported by some of their military leaders, continue to claim that their nuclear weapons have significant utility. And the behaviour of British, French, and Chinese leaders suggests that they also believe that nuclear weapons are useful.